Salt Baked Chicken with Hay

Ingredients

Salt Crust: 1 cup table salt, ¼ cup rock salt, 2 ¼ cups plain flour, plus extra for rolling, 2 egg whites, 200mls water

Chicken: 1.6kg whole chicken, 1 lemon wedge, 5 sprigs thyme, Handful hay, Potato aioli, 3 bulbs garlic, 2 large desire potatoes, peeled, chopped, 4 egg yolks, 150mls extra virgin olive oil, 150mls vegetable oil,

Lemon juice to taste

Rolled chicken thigh: 1 garlic clove, Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, 2 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp white, eppercorns, 3 slices pancetta, 2 tsp olive oil,

Artichoke barigoule: 100mls extra virgin olive oil, 2 carrots, diced, 4 shallots, diced, 1 celery stalk, diced, ½ fennel, diced, 500mls white wine, 2 litres water, 1 clove garlic, chopped, 4 parsley stalks, 1 bay leaf, 5 sprigs thyme, 2 tsp white peppercorns, ¼ tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 4 baby artichokes, 1 lemon

Burnt butter sauce: 200g butter, 2 eggs, Lemon juice to taste, Finely grated rind of ½ orange

Artichoke and vegetables: 250mls strained artichoke cooking liquid, ½ tsp chardonnay vinegar, 1 tbs finely diced carrot, 1 tbs finely diced fennel, 1 tbs finely diced celery, 1 tbs finely diced shallot, 100g double peeled broad beans.

Hazelnuts: ¼ cup of Hazelnuts
To Serve: Micro herbs to garnish

Method

1. To make the salt crust, place the table salt, rock salt and flour in a bowl and mix to combine. Make a well in the centre; add the egg whites and water and using your hands, mix to a dough. Transfer to a clean flat surface and knead for about 2 minutes or until firm.

2. To make the chicken, preheat oven to 220C. Grease and line a baking tray. Remove the wing tips and parsons nose and discard. Remove the legs and reserve. Season the chicken cavity with salt and stuff with lemon wedge and thyme. Take a golf ball size ball of the salt crust and reserve. Roll the remaining salt crust on a lightly floured surface to about a 40cm circle. Sprinkle a handful of hay evenly over the salt crust, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Place the chicken, breast side down, onto the hay. Fold the dough over the bird to completely enclose and pinch to seal. Place the parcel on the prepared tray, seam side down. Pull out any hay that has poked through, and use the reserved salt crust to seal holes or gaps in the crust. Place the chicken in the oven and reduce the temperature to 190C. Cook for 40 minutes, without opening the oven. Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes. To release the pressure, use a serrated knife, cut around the lower circumference of the crust, without cutting the chicken. Stand until ready to serve. Remove top crust. Carve breast away from carcass and slice the breast into 1cm thick slices.

3. To make the potato aioli, preheat a separate oven to 190C. Wrap the garlic individually in foil and roast for about 30 minutes or until soft. Squeeze the garlic from skin. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and pass the potatoes through a ricer. Place potatoes, roasted garlic and egg yolks in a food processor and process until smooth. With motor operating, slowly add the oil until completely emulsified. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt and pepper. Pass through a fine sieve.

4. For the rolled chicken thigh, place the garlic, lemon rind, fennel seeds and white pepper in a mortar and use the pestle to make a paste. Remove the drumstick from the reserved chicken legs and discard drumstick. Bone the thigh and place skin side down on a flat surface. Season with a pinch of salt and rub a pinch of the spice mix onto the flesh. Roll the thigh into a cannon shape. Lay pancetta side by side, overlapping on a flat surface. Place the rolled chicken thigh, seam side down onto the centre of the pancetta and roll to form a tight parcel. Tie crossways with kitchen string and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Heat oil in an ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Cook the thigh in the pan, turning occasionally to brown the surface. Bake for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Remove from pan and rest for 10 minutes. Remove string, trim the ends of the rolled chicken and slice into 1cm disks.

5. To make the artichoke barigoule, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the carrots, shallots, celery and fennel and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the wine, water and all remaining ingredients except the artichokes and lemon. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place the juice of ½ of the lemon in a bowl with 1 litre cold water. Remove the dark outer leaves of the artichokes, to expose the light, tender inner centre and shave with a vegetable peeler to clean. Shave the base and stem and rub the whole artichoke with remaining lemon half to prevent browning. Cut 2cm from the tops of the cleaned artichoke and discard. Soak in prepared lemon water until all artichokes are clean. Remove the artichokes from the water and place in the barigoule liquid. Cover with a cartouche and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and stand until ready to use.

6. To make the burnt butter sauce, place the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and continue to cook until the butter is golden brown. Skim the surface and discard impurities. Strain the burnt butter through a fine sieve, leaving the sediment behind and measure out 150mls of clean burnt butter. Cook the eggs in a saucepan of boiling water for 4 minutes. Remove eggs and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Peel eggs and place in a blender. Blend until smooth. With the motor operating, slowly add the 150ml of clean burnt butter. Season with lemon juice, orange rind and salt and pepper.

7. To prepare the hazelnuts, roast for a few minutes until skin peels away easily. Cool slightly. Rub hazelnuts between fingers to remove skin. Cut hazelnuts in half.

8. To make the artichokes and vegetables, take 250mls of strained artichoke cooking liquid and place in a small saucepan. Simmer until liquid reduces to 50mls. Add the chardonnay vinegar, carrot, fennel, celery and shallot and cook the vegetables in the liquid for 3 minutes. Add the strained artichokes, cook for 1 minute then add the broad beans. Cook for a further 30sec and season to taste.

9. To serve, place 2 smears of potato aioli on a serving plate. Place 3 rolled chicken thigh disks on smears. Place 2 slices of chicken breast on plate. Halve 1 artichoke and plate the 2 artichoke halves and 1 whole artichoke on the plate. Scatter the vegetables around the plate, garnish with micro herbs and halved hazelnuts. Finish with butter sauce.